Siomay

Filling:
500 gr prawn, peel and chopped or grind
2 tbs corn flour or starch
1/4 pc garlic, make a paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Wanton skin:
100 gr flour
10 gr corn flour or starch
2 tsp butter
50 cc hot water
A pinch of salt


Filling:
Mix all the filling ingredient

Wanton Skin:
Mix flour, corn flour/starch, butter and salt. Add the hot water little by little and keep mixing for about 15 minutes
Keep it cool for about 10 minutes
Take a small ball of the dough and flattened it by bottle or wooden roller

Do the same for the rest of the dough

Take one peace of the wanton skin, fill with the filling in the middle and fold it up wise and leave the top open

Steam for about 20 minutes
Serve hot with red pepper sauce or peanut sauce

Siomay

Filling:
500 gr prawn, peel and chopped or grind
2 tbs corn flour or starch
1/4 pc garlic, make a paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Wanton skin:
100 gr flour
10 gr corn flour or starch
2 tsp butter
50 cc hot water
A pinch of salt


Filling:
Mix all the filling ingredient

Wanton Skin:
Mix flour, corn flour/starch, butter and salt. Add the hot water little by little and keep mixing for about 15 minutes
Keep it cool for about 10 minutes
Take a small ball of the dough and flattened it by bottle or wooden roller

Do the same for the rest of the dough

Take one peace of the wanton skin, fill with the filling in the middle and fold it up wise and leave the top open

Steam for about 20 minutes
Serve hot with red pepper sauce or peanut sauce

Black Gravy Squid (Cumi Masak Tinta)

3 squid in medium size, clear them without remove the ink pouch, cut into pieces
1 big tomato, shred
1 garlic clove
2 small red onion
1 stalk green onion, shred
1/2 tea spoon salt
1/4 tea spoon pepper powder
1/2 tea spoon sugar
1 table spoon cooking oil
3 cup water

Heat cooking oil in a pan, add garlic, red onion, and green onion, mix till fregrance.

Add the squids and tomato, pour in water, cook about 10-13 minute in high heat (don't cook it too long or the squid will become rubbery), add salt, sugar and pepper powder, mix then remove.

Ready to serve

Black Gravy Squid (Cumi Masak Tinta)

3 squid in medium size, clear them without remove the ink pouch, cut into pieces
1 big tomato, shred
1 garlic clove
2 small red onion
1 stalk green onion, shred
1/2 tea spoon salt
1/4 tea spoon pepper powder
1/2 tea spoon sugar
1 table spoon cooking oil
3 cup water

Heat cooking oil in a pan, add garlic, red onion, and green onion, mix till fregrance.

Add the squids and tomato, pour in water, cook about 10-13 minute in high heat (don't cook it too long or the squid will become rubbery), add salt, sugar and pepper powder, mix then remove.

Ready to serve

Shrimp Curry (Kari Udang)

10 large shrimp, clean (peeled/unpeeled)
1 tbsp Java Tamarind
1 tbsp sugar
500 ml coconut milk
salt to taste
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 bunch petai (stinking beans), peeled - optional

Blend :
6 shallots
4 cloves garlic
6 pcs pecan
6 pcs red chili
6 pcs bird's eye chili

Heat oil. Stir fry blended ingredients until fragrant.

Add shrimps, continue to fry until the shrimps change color. Add coconut milk, Java tamarind water, sugar, salt and pepper.

Cook to boil and until the solution thicken. Add Petai (Stinking Beans) and stir well. Serve with steam rice.

Shrimp Curry (Kari Udang)

10 large shrimp, clean (peeled/unpeeled)
1 tbsp Java Tamarind
1 tbsp sugar
500 ml coconut milk
salt to taste
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 bunch petai (stinking beans), peeled - optional

Blend :
6 shallots
4 cloves garlic
6 pcs pecan
6 pcs red chili
6 pcs bird's eye chili

Heat oil. Stir fry blended ingredients until fragrant.

Add shrimps, continue to fry until the shrimps change color. Add coconut milk, Java tamarind water, sugar, salt and pepper.

Cook to boil and until the solution thicken. Add Petai (Stinking Beans) and stir well. Serve with steam rice.

Gulai Kepala Ikan (Fish Head Curry)

1 (850g) Fish Head
2 tbsp Desiccated coconut, roasted, pounded
3 tbsp Oil
1 stalk Lemon grass, bruised
1 Pandan leaf, torn, knotted
750 cc Coconut milk from 1 coconut
5 Carambolas, halves or use 1/2 teaspoon tamarind juice
10 Salam leaves or bay leaves as substitute
Lime juice and salt

Spices (ground)
10 Dried red chilies
1/2 tbsp Chopped turmeric
1/2 tbsp Chopped ginger
7 Shallots
3 cloves Garlic
1 tbsp Coriander, roasted
1/2 tsp Cumin, roasted
1/4 Aniseed, roasted
1 tsp Peppercorns, roasted
1 tbsp Dried Carambola
Salt to taste

1. Rub the fish head with lime juice and salt, and let it stand for 1/2 hour.
Drain, then rub the fish head with pounded coconut.

Heat oil and sauté ground spices, lemon grass and pandanus leaf until fragrant, then add coconut milk.
Allow to simmer.

Add fish head and carambolas, and bring to the boil.
Stir from time to time, then add salam leaves.
Simmer until the fish is cooked and the gravy is a little oily. Serve hot.

Gulai Kepala Ikan (Fish Head Curry)

1 (850g) Fish Head
2 tbsp Desiccated coconut, roasted, pounded
3 tbsp Oil
1 stalk Lemon grass, bruised
1 Pandan leaf, torn, knotted
750 cc Coconut milk from 1 coconut
5 Carambolas, halves or use 1/2 teaspoon tamarind juice
10 Salam leaves or bay leaves as substitute
Lime juice and salt

Spices (ground)
10 Dried red chilies
1/2 tbsp Chopped turmeric
1/2 tbsp Chopped ginger
7 Shallots
3 cloves Garlic
1 tbsp Coriander, roasted
1/2 tsp Cumin, roasted
1/4 Aniseed, roasted
1 tsp Peppercorns, roasted
1 tbsp Dried Carambola
Salt to taste

1. Rub the fish head with lime juice and salt, and let it stand for 1/2 hour.
Drain, then rub the fish head with pounded coconut.

Heat oil and sauté ground spices, lemon grass and pandanus leaf until fragrant, then add coconut milk.
Allow to simmer.

Add fish head and carambolas, and bring to the boil.
Stir from time to time, then add salam leaves.
Simmer until the fish is cooked and the gravy is a little oily. Serve hot.

Lemon and Garlic Roasted Sardines with Potatoes

After a salmon treat, here's a no less delicious recipe using a much looked down upon fish--the cheap sardine. Yes, sardines! Those cheap little oily fishes are rich in the same omega3 fats that we celebrate the salmon for. And have I mentioned how cheap they are?

A lot of people find them overpowering, but a bit of garlic lemon and fresh herbs will definitely get rid of any "smell", although I find it not so much a problem with fresh fish. I decided to roast the sardines whole, on a bed of potatoes because I like how pretty and impressive they look. I know many people cannot stand the idea of having the fish still staring at you on your dinner plate, but I'm absolutely fine with it. Maybe it's because I grew up in a household where my Chinese mum would often steam a whole fresh fish for dinner. Or maybe I'm just weird.

Lemon and Garlic Roasted Sardines with Potatoes

Ingredients

serves 1-2

2 sardines, whole

1 large baking potato, chopped into large chunks

3 cloves of garlic, smashed but skin on

1 lemon (1/2 cut into wedges, 1/2 reserved)

couple of sprigs of thyme

sea salt, black pepper (to taste, but be generous)

extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Parboil the potatoes in salted water for about 5 min, then drain well and give them a good shake to bash them up so you get crispy skins later. Arrange the potatoes in an even layer on a greased oven proof dish, season and drizzle with evoo, and place into the oven to roast for 45 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, remove the gills and insides from the sardines by cutting from just beneath the head down the belly. Wash under running water and rub the sardines all over to remove the blood and scales. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper.

4. 10 min before your potatoes are ready, remove, turn up the heat to 200 degrees celsius.

5. Place the sardines over and scatter the garlic thyme and the lemon wedges around. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over. Return to oven and roast for 10 more min till the sardines are just cooked. You can also change to broil setting for the last few minutes to get a lightly charred, crispier skin!

sardines before roasting (they look so cute, all wide-eyed and innocent)

sardines after roasting (I'm sorry, but yum)

The garlic and thyme really give the roasted sardines a mouthwatering aroma, and the lemons help to cut the richness of the sardines, so I can safely assure you there is no more horrible fishy smell. Option: You can also grill sardines whole if you have a barbeque, a fantastic option as the weather starts getting warmer (yay).

By the way, sardines are full of little bones that you can eat and that are actually good for you because they're full of calcium. Usually I have no problems eating the little bones in canned fish, but I find them quite irritating in sardines :( I'll find a way to get all these bones out for my next sardine adventure.

I'm off to Romania for 5 days! My favourite bit about planning for this trip (as with all trips) is the food research hee hee. Romania's supposedly a place that's not yet overflowing with processed food, instead being full of traditional meaty stews and vegetables! approve. anyway, will be back to blogging next week! (:

This is part of Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club, and Tasty Tuesdays.

Pan Seared Chilli Soy-Marinated Salmon with Sesame Spinach

Finally! A horrible two weeks of deadlines after deadlines is over!

And to treat myself, I decided to slowly marinate a piece of salmon steak in spicy garlicky tamari and sesame oil for a couple of hours instead of my throw-it-all-together meals the past few days. The actual cooking and preparation time is still very short though, and there's nothing extremely unique or wow about this, but it's one of my favourite (comfort) flavour combinations.

Pan Seared Chilli Soy-Marinated Salmon

serves 1

Ingredients

1 piece salmon steak

1 tbsp coconut oil (or ghee or a mix with evoo, to fry)

Marinade

2 tsp soy sauce (naturally fermented and aged, I used tamari)

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 small clove garlic, grated

1 cm piece of ginger, grated

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp unrefined cane sugar or molasses

Method

1. Combine marinade ingredients and cover the salmon with it. Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours. Remove from marinade and bring to room temperature 20 min before cooking.

2. Over medium-high heat, add the oil in a pan and place the salmon into the hot pan. Don't keep poking it, or you won't get a nice sear. Salmon steaks are a bit trickier than the fillets because I can't see the colour change along the sides, but I give it an estimate of about 3 minutes before flipping over and letting it cook for another 2 min.

Sesame Spinach

Ingredients

2 big handfuls of spinach

2 tsp sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Method

1. Heat the sesame oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic, stirring often till they get browned.

2. Meanwhile, wilt the spinach in boiling water or you can steam it. Refresh in cold water.

3. Toss with the garlic-infused sesame oil.

Sprinkle the toasted garlic all over the spinach and the salmon and serve with rice!

Salty spicy and sweet with the aroma of toasted sesame and garlic --Ah, happy (:

This is part of Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tue, Tue Night Supper Club.

Pan Fried shrimps with Glass Noodles in Thai Basil and Coriander Pesto

One of my favourite things to do with fresh herbs is pesto. I had Thai basil (learn about this very special basil in my post on Three Cup Chicken), so I decided to make pesto out of it.

And now that I have a mini-chopper I can do pesto in no time at all! I know, those Italian mamas will insist on grinding everything the traditional way in a mortar and pestle, but.. I wanted pesto fast ): To redeem myself, I have done (chunky) walnut basil pesto by hand before. The next bit about this very special pesto that's sure to send the Italian mamas reeling again, is that I didn't use Parmesan, heck I didn't use any cheese at all! To keep to the true Thai theme, I used naturally fermented soybean paste to provide the savoury factor, and used toasted crushed peanuts instead of pine nuts.

Thai Basil and Coriander Pest0

Ingredients

1 clove garlic

1 large handful of Thai basil (leaves only)

2 large handfuls of coriander

1 handful of unsalted (and preferably soaked) peanuts, lightly toasted

1 tbsp of fermented soybean paste (kind of like white miso)

1 green chilli, deseeded (I used Thai birds eye chilli, but you can opt for milder ones;) )

fish sauce (to taste)

1 tsp of sesame oil

extra virgin olive oil

squeeze of half a lime

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor/mini chopper, pouring in enough extra virgin olive oil till you get to the desired smooth consistency. Add the lime juice after that to add some freshness.

With my controversial pesto ready, it was time for some asian-style pesto-and-pasta!

Panfried shrimps with Glass Noodles in Thai Basil and Coriander Pesto

Ingredients

1 bundle of glass noodles (also known as mung bean threads/vermicelli, cellophane noodles, dang hoon. Not the same as rice noodles.)

couple of shrimps/prawns, shelled (please use more, I just only had 2 sad ones left.)

a few drops of fish sauce

a little bit of coconut oil (or evoo)

1/4 cup of Thai basil and coriander pesto

Method

1. Soak the glass noodles in cold water for about 10 minutes to soften. Drain, then pour boiling water over the noodles and let sit for 10 seconds (these cook really fast!). Drain, then run cold water over it to stop the noodles from continuing to cook.

2. Devein the shrimps by slitting the back, coat with fish sauce and fry them in a hot pan, flipping once. You'll know when they're cooked, because they turn pink and curl into that pretty butterfly shape.

3. Toss all in the pesto, and garnish with a sprig of fresh Thai basil.

I love glass noodles in all their translucent beauty and slippery goodness, and I love shrimps, though I wish there were more, and when both of them are covered in that delicious savoury pesto with the fragrance of these asian herbs and the smell of toasted peanuts, it's <3!

This is part of Monday Mania, Simple Lives Thursday, Presto Pasta Night #207, Herbs and Flowers in my Platter- Coriander, (started by Seduce your tastebuds), and Weekend Herb Blogging (started by Haalo).

By the way, Miz Helen decided to fill her plate up last week with my Baked Egg in Jacket Potato with Chilli, Lime and Coriander Butter (: Yay.

Make your own flavoured butter

Herb butters are the best standbys for a busy weeknight, I feel. And these two weeks, I am going to be very busy, so I bought yet another block of butter (kerrygold's on offer anyway!) to set about making a few different flavours so I can just pop them into or on top of my baked/steamed/pan-fried vegetables/fish/meat<-- yes that's just how useful they are, and not to mention, easy. You can use any combination of herbs you want, or in my case, need to use up.

Garlic and Herb (Parsley) Butter

makes 1 little log

Ingredients

1/4 block of butter

2-3 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley (leaves only)

1 clove garlic, finely grated

sea salt, to taste (if using unsalted butter)

Method

1. Leave the butter out till it softens.

see how yellow grassfed butter is?

2. Mix in the chopped herbs, garlic and sea salt.

3. Scoop onto clingfilm and then wrap the clingfilm around the butter mixture. Roll (the way you roll play-doh!) gently till you get a little log, then twist to seal the edges.

4. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours, or till it hardens.

Just slice into coins as and when you need them!

This was a quick dinner:

Pan-fried Mackerel with Garlic and Parsley Butter

serves 1

1 mackerel fillet

sea salt, black pepper (to taste)

2-3 'coins' of flavoured butter (above)

1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Score the mackerel skin, you can slash or do criss-crosses , it just helps to keep it from curling up. Season on both sides.

3. Place the mackerel skin side down on a pan over medium high heat for about 10 min (could be a bit less even, depend how thick your fillet is. Just watch the colour change. It's easy though, no work. You shouldn't try to keep poking it).

4. When almost done, add one coin of butter to the pan and swirl about the edges of the mackerel, to help the skin caramelise and crisp up more.

5. Serve with more coins of herb butter and simply cooked greens. (you can drop coins of flavoured butter into the greens too hehe. never too much eh?)

The flavour of the garlic and parsely, and most importantly, that creamy nutty butter, just melts into the "boring old pan-fried fish", making for a quick yummy dinner!

This is part of Hearth and Soul Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Anyone Can Cook, Simple Lives Thursday.

Sago Ball Soup (Sup Kapurung)

Sago ball :
1 cup sago flour (cassava flour)
a bit of tap water
boiling water

Soup :
100 gr Anchovy (or shrimp)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 cm ginger
5 cm lemon grass
1 tsp maggi block
1 tbsp fried shallot
salt
water

chinese morning glory
callalo
any green veggies
corn kernels
tomato sliced
Young mango shradded

Chilli sauce :
habanero/ scotch bonnet
tomatoes
shallots
1/2 tsp shrimp cake (trasi)

To prepare the sago ball, add boiling water into the bowl filled with thick sago paste, leave a minute until it turns transparent, stir fast until all sago is done.

Bring to boil all other ingredients to make the soup (except the chilli sauce and sago ball.)

To serve, add sago balls into the soup, mix veggies and lime. Serves in bowl with shredded young mango.

For chilli sauce, blanched and ground with mortar and pestle.

Sago Ball Soup (Sup Kapurung)

Sago ball :
1 cup sago flour (cassava flour)
a bit of tap water
boiling water

Soup :
100 gr Anchovy (or shrimp)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 cm ginger
5 cm lemon grass
1 tsp maggi block
1 tbsp fried shallot
salt
water

chinese morning glory
callalo
any green veggies
corn kernels
tomato sliced
Young mango shradded

Chilli sauce :
habanero/ scotch bonnet
tomatoes
shallots
1/2 tsp shrimp cake (trasi)

To prepare the sago ball, add boiling water into the bowl filled with thick sago paste, leave a minute until it turns transparent, stir fast until all sago is done.

Bring to boil all other ingredients to make the soup (except the chilli sauce and sago ball.)

To serve, add sago balls into the soup, mix veggies and lime. Serves in bowl with shredded young mango.

For chilli sauce, blanched and ground with mortar and pestle.

Whole Mackerel on Balsamic and Thyme-Roasted Beetroot, with Sauteed Beet Leaves

Here's my last beetroot recipe for the Valentine's day line-up, this time a main course, not just a starter or side. This is a true celebration of the whole beet! Did you know it's not only the beetroot you can eat? You can eat the beet leaves too, it's actually related to the chard, which I love. Also, I want to take this opportunity to show you how you can work with more than just salmon fillets, but the whole fish. Mackerel is a wonderful oily fish that's rich in the same omega 3 fatty acids as salmon, and tastes amazing, but for a fraction of the price of salmon.

Whole Mackerel on Balsamic and Thyme Roasted Beetroot

serves 2

Ingredients

2 small/medium-sized mackerels, gutted but leave the heads and tails intact. (Nothing's wrong with your eyes, I only used 1 mackerel, because it was just for me)

2 small beetroots, peeled and chopped into large chunks (actually on second thought, if you slice it into nice circles, you can do a more classy presentation!)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt, black pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

2. Toss the chopped beetroot with the balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp of evoo and 1 tbsp of thyme leaves. Roast for 20-25 minutes, till beetroot caramelises on the surface, but the inside is not totally soft.

3. Season the mackerels well with sea salt and pepper (esp the cavity), and tuck 1 sprig of thyme into the cavity of each mackerel.

4. Place the mackerel on top of the beetroot, and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, till the flesh is opaque, and the skin gets crispy. (You can turn the heat up, and change to "broil" for the last 5 min to get that charred effect if you want!)

5. Pour a tiny bit hot water just to deglaze the roasting dish and get the caramalised balsamic-beetroot juices off.

Simple Beet Leaves Saute

This is done in the same way as my Two-Kale Stir-fry, which is the no-fuss method I use on most greens when I just want a simple side.

Ingredients

Bunch of beet leaves from the 2 beets

2 cloves garlic

1/2 small onion

2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp butter

a little balsamic vinegar (instead of lemon, so the whole dish is more harmonious)

sea salt, pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Remove the stalks from the beet leaves. These are harder and take longer to cook.

2. Melt butter with the 11/2 tsp of evoo over medium-high heat, in a large frying pan.

3. Fry the garlic and onion till golden/translucent, not browned.

4. Add the beet stalks first, turn up the heat, then add a splash of water (which quickly turns to steam) and the salt and pepper. 2-3 min later, add the beet leaves.

5. After the beet leaves have wilted and all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat, add the extra tsp of evoo, and balsamic vinegar. Mix well and serve!

Serve the sauteed beet leaves with the roast mackerel and beetroot, drizzling the beet/balsamic roasting juices over, and sprinkling a few fresh thyme (leaves only) over. A fish cooked whole has has a more moist, flaky flesh, and it looks so impressive on the plate, don't you think? Or maybe it's just me. If you're worried about the head scaring your date off, you could always behead the fish I guess.

This entry is part of Tuesday Twister and Real Food Wednesday.

Black Pepper Marinated Shrimp (Udang Goreng Lada Hitam)

500 g large pancet shrimp
1 clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
cooking oil

Black Pepper Sauce :

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
30 g onion, chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tsp black pepper, crushed a bit rough
200 ml water
1 tsp cornflour, dissolved in a little water

Use a scissors to cut the back of shrimps until slightly open.
Rub with grated garlic, salt and lime juice. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Fry in hot oil until slightly dry and a lot. Drain.

Black Pepper Sauce : Saute garlic and onions until tender.
Add other seasonings and water. Bring to a boil.
Pour the starch solution, stirring until thick.

Add the fried shrimp, simmer briefly. Lift and serve warm.

Black Pepper Marinated Shrimp (Udang Goreng Lada Hitam)

500 g large pancet shrimp
1 clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
cooking oil

Black Pepper Sauce :

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
30 g onion, chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tsp black pepper, crushed a bit rough
200 ml water
1 tsp cornflour, dissolved in a little water

Use a scissors to cut the back of shrimps until slightly open.
Rub with grated garlic, salt and lime juice. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Fry in hot oil until slightly dry and a lot. Drain.

Black Pepper Sauce : Saute garlic and onions until tender.
Add other seasonings and water. Bring to a boil.
Pour the starch solution, stirring until thick.

Add the fried shrimp, simmer briefly. Lift and serve warm.

Steamed Red Snapper and Mussels in Coconut Broth and Lemon Grass

Really had a challenge in the kitchen this weekend.
I decided to try out another episode of Curtis Stone's "Take Home Chef".  
This was the episode where he cooked for 'Jackie'.  
If you would like to try any of these dishes, go  here
The menu was inspired by Southeast Asian cuisine.  
This is new to me and outside my comfort zone.  
O.K., I'm not really talented enough yet to 'have a comfort zone' 
 but that sounded really good to say.
It was a difficult menu for me because the learning curve was steep.  
I don't think each dish was difficult necessarily, they each had elements that need trial and error.

Deep fried oysters with Ponzu dipping sauce

I have NEVER fried anything before.  Fried oysters, however, are one of my favorite foods.  I have had some amazing oysters since moving to Texas this past year.  Basically, my oil was not hot enough.  

The oil has to be really hot!  

I think I'll just leave fried food up to the experts, like  the delicious restaurant

Goode Seafood Co. in Houston!

Steamed Red Snapper and Mussels in Coconut Cream Broth with Lemon Grass and White wine

Delicious.  

Really aromatic.  

All of the scents were heavenly.  

I learned how to break open a coconut, scrape out the cream, pound lemon grass, dice chili peppers, and steam mussels.  These were all new cooking experiences for me.  Hardest part of this dish was not overcooking the mussels.  

The timing of wok-ing the mussels in the broth and steaming the fish just right was tricky.

Whole Foods didn't have Red Snapper so they sold me Rockfish.  

The fish was thick and wouldn't steam as fast as necessary. 

 I put the mussels and all of the vegetables in the wok and then placed my bamboo steamer on top of that in order to steam the fish. 

 Mussels cooked, fish didn't.  Timing of this dish was difficult.  I wouldn't want to serve it if I had more than 4 guests!  I would also choose a thinner fish that will cook faster.

Basic French Boule

Oh!  The intoxicating smell of baking bread.  

I am addicted to bread baking.  

This is the loaf as it came right out of the oven.

Every weekend I would like to try a new type of bread.  I hope it gets easier, though.  

All of the 'resting', 'unresting', 'refrigerating', 'covering', 'proofing', is boggling.

Hopefully, if I get better some of these steps will feel more natural.

This was the first recipe in my new bread book, 

Artisan Breads Everyday by Peter Reinhart. 

Yum. Yum.

This would be a good choice to serve a group of guests because you can do steps ahead of time. And...it is such a wonderful presentation.  

Looks harder than it is.

 I made the 'base' for the souffle the day before.

The only thing I had to do during dinner was wisk the egg whites and sugar, mix that with the chocolate base, fill the ramekins and then pop them in the oven for 12 min.  

I buttered and coated the ramekins with cocoa the day before as well. 

If I make them again, I will fill the ramekins almost to the top.  I was afraid to fill them too high and make a mess.  

Its o.k.  

They don't rise as much as you think so fill them pretty high to get that dramatic effect.

However,really disappointed with this photo.  

I was trying out some lighting techniques that I read about. 

 Back to the drawing board.

  I wasn't thrilled with the lighting or quality of the photo.  

Sooooo much to learn. 

But,

already dreaming of what to cook next.

Curtis?  What do you have for me?

Sweet and sour shrimps (Udang Asam Manis)

1/2 lb of medium sized shrimps
5 pieces of garlic
3 oz. flour
1 pcs of egg
2 spoons of tomato sauce
1 lime
1/2 spoon of sugar
salt and pepper

Clean shrimps, remove the heads but keep the tails.
Clean garlic, and slice thinly. Sprinkle over the shrimps.
Make a mix of the flour, egg, with enough water, salt, and pepper.

Heat oil on a pan.
One by one, put the shrimps into the pan by first dipping it in the mix above. Fry until golden.

Put on a plate, serve with sweet and sour sauce (just mix tomato sauce, lime and sugar.)

Sweet and sour shrimps (Udang Asam Manis)

1/2 lb of medium sized shrimps
5 pieces of garlic
3 oz. flour
1 pcs of egg
2 spoons of tomato sauce
1 lime
1/2 spoon of sugar
salt and pepper

Clean shrimps, remove the heads but keep the tails.
Clean garlic, and slice thinly. Sprinkle over the shrimps.
Make a mix of the flour, egg, with enough water, salt, and pepper.

Heat oil on a pan.
One by one, put the shrimps into the pan by first dipping it in the mix above. Fry until golden.

Put on a plate, serve with sweet and sour sauce (just mix tomato sauce, lime and sugar.)